Ramchandra Bhikaji Gunjikar (10 April 1843 – 18 June 1901) was a

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

writer from the Bombay Presidency in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. He was born on 10 April 1843 in the town of Jamboti in

Belgaum District Belagavi district, formerly also known as Belgaum district, is a district in the state of Karnataka, India. The district is known as the sugar bowl of Karnataka with hectares being used for commercial production. It has overtaken Mandya distri ...

. He graduated in 1864 from Elphinstone High School in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, and started teaching in the same school three years later. In 1888, he assumed the headmaster's position in the Anglo-vernacular High School in

Hubli Hubli (officially Hubballi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. The twin cities Hubli–Dharwad form the second largest city in the state by area and population and the largest city in North Karnataka. Hubli is in Dharwad district of ...

, and moved on four years later to be an assistant deputy educational inspector for Belagaum district. In 1867, Gunjikar became the first editor of the monthly ''Wiwidha Dnyan Wistar'' () which was founded with the objective of disseminating information on varied topics, including sciences, biographies, literary criticisms, and philosophical/ethical ideas. He stayed in that position for seven years to turn the magazine into a prestigious monthly. His proficiency in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

, and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

languages helped him in his editorial and literary works. His articles included ones on Marathi poetry, Marathi grammar, and Marathi as a language. He also invented a Marathi shorthand script. Gunjikar became the first historic novelist in Marathi literature when he wrote the novel ''Mochangad'' () in 1871. The novel vividly describes life in Maharashtra in the first half of the 17th century. He died before he could finish his second historic novel ''Godawari'' () pertaining to

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

rule in

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

Literary work

The following is a list of titles of Gunjikar's major works: * (1871) * (Translation of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's play ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'') (1872) * (Translation of Bhattoji Dikshit's Sanskrit volumes titled concerning Sanskrit grammar) (1877–79) * (1878) * (1884) * (1884) * (A critique in Marathi on Sanskrit ''

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...

'' (1884) * (1886) * (1895) * (Translation of

Kalidas Kālidāsa (, "Servant of Kali"; 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on Hindu Puranas and philosophy. His surviv ...

play ) *

References

* (Book in Marathi containing a compilation of Gunjikar's essays) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunjikar, Ramchandra Bhikaji 1843 births 1901 deaths Marathi-language writers Writers from British India People from Bombay Presidency